The Montgomery Baseball Blog: Skitz To Get 2015 AllStar Game, Take Series from Barons, Integrate Team

The Biscuits waited out Mother Nature through sunday and monday morning - sending the kids back to school before holding the doubleheader at three pm.

GAME ONE
The home-skitz took game one with one big inning, big Matt Lollis vultured his second win of the young season. Starter Mike Colla went four innings, striking out four and simply running out of pitches to count due to surrendering seven hits.

The Biscuits scored all their runs in a fourth inning rally that included a towering Richie Shaffer homerun to centerfield. It was a lead that the bullpen would make stand up when Santiago Garrido struck out a pair to nail down the save and the series victory.

Seitzer

The play of the game, perhaps of the homestand, was a Cameron Seitzer stolen base. With runners on first and third manager Brady Williams put Seitzer on the move from first base. Barreling down to second drew the throw from the Barons catcher, which sent Taylor Motter scampering home as the second baseman threw to the plate without attempting to tag Seitzer. Motter was safe in a successful steal of home and Seitzer credited with the theft of second!

SEITZERS SWIPE
For Cameron the theft is equal to his stolen base totals in the past two years - he had one each in 2012 & 2013. He may be a big first baseman but he can run, Cameron pilfered six bases in his first pro season with Princeton in the Appy League.

GAME TWO
Game two went the other direction, the Barons closed out the victory by the skin of their teeth.
An early eight run lead evaporated in the last inning when Bham closer Cody Winiarski fell apart, allowing five runs on five hits and a walk while getting only one hitter out on a run scoring fly out to the warning track.

The Barons summoned Kevin Vance to bail out the closer and Vance was up to the task, getting the last two outs and his first save of the year leaving the Biscuits tying run at the plate.

BRING YOUR CLEATS

Manager Brady Williams likes to run, anyone in the park might be a candidate to get the "Go" sign!

Four stolen bases by Biscuits in the first five games were often key moments - a steal of third base sparked a victory in one game of this series, a double steal propelled the Skitz into a win in another. This may be the year of the "GoGo Biscuits"!

MONTGOMERY TO HOST 2015 ALL STAR GAME

Rumors flying around the ballpark this weekend say that its all but a done deal that Montgomery will get the 2015 AllStar Game.

We were on track to host the midseason event in 2016, but appear to be poised to move up with the departure of Huntsville to Biloxi next spring. Huntsville would have been in line to host the double-A midsummer classic in 2015 but may have forfeited the opportunity.

The only All Star baseball game in Mgm since 2006 could change soon

Originally I expected to hear that it would be Pensacola hosting in 2015, which would be in line with how long it took Montgomery to bring the AllStar Game to Riverwalk. Its still possible this could happen, or even that Montgomery would be moved back from our expected 2016 season in order to showcase the new ballpark in Biloxi as well as get P-cola in as well.

The All-Star announcement could happen soon, though the press release for the 2014 game in Chattanooga just went out in January. This impending announcement helps explain why Asst.GM Scott Tribble was coy about answering my questions concerning our city hosting an upcoming AllStar game.

BOBBLE NOT MATEO

Mo pulls a little rank

The Biscuits bobblyhead giveaway thing this year will not be Victor Mateo, who continues to be snubbed despite his historic No-Hitter at home last August.
The Skitz won't say for sure, but the Alfa giveaway is scheduled for Memorial Day and carries a patriotic theme. Expect Big Mo in Uncle Sams clothes or perhaps the USAF uni hes pictured in on Military Wednesdays.

NO RESPECT

Skitz mob Mateo Aug 24th 2014

Mateo was also not on the cover of the home program, Joe Maddon was pictured instead. Former Biscuit Matt Moore got a bobblehead AND on the program cover for his no hitter.

On a recent article at MiLB.Com covering the Southern league, the Biscuits were not even mentioned and in a list of recent events the Last No Hitter was noted as Eric Jokish of the Smokies.

Jock-itch did throw a seven inning no-no a couple weeks before Victor faced the minimum at Riverwalk on August 24. I tweeted them and it was corrected.

Even the Mgm Advertiser game report the following day got the date wrong, saying his no hitter happened on the 25th, the day of the publication!

Come on, whats a guy got to do to get some recognition for his no-hitter? Throw 106mph?

WHOOPS!
SATURDAYS GAME DELAYED BY WSFA!

Saturday I am getting ready to head to the park to see the Barons face the Biscuits and notice a tweet from the local news station, WSFA. They say "Be sure to watch todays Batter Up Biscuits special at six thirty, then we will broadcast the game from 7-10pm".

So I check my Biscuits team magnet schedule, handed out just the previous evening. It says "Be sure to watch WSFA on April 19th for the Batter Up Special".

At that point, I wondered if the Biscuits knew that WSFA was showing up!

When I get to the game and see the news camera in the camera well next to where I sit I know for sure that WSFA is there.

At that point I wondered if WSFA knew the Biscuits game starts at 6:35 and not 7pm!

Pretty soon someone comes to run the camera and I mention that the game was scheduled to start at six thirty five. The camera operator was surprised by this, and quickly started informing whoever is on the other end of those headphones camera operators wear.

A few minutes later, the video score board goes out and we hear the announcement "Ladies and gentlemen, we are having technical difficulties, there will be a delay". The game was then delayed 30 minutes.

HISTORIC DATE FOR SURE
One of the most important baseball dates in Montgomery history!

APRIL 7 1954

On this date the Philadelphia A's beat Pittsburgh Pirates 17-10 in exhibition game at Montgomery that featured nine home runs.

Zernial

It was a high scoring game with plenty of action. The A's slugging Z's Gus Zernial and Bill Zenna and the original Frank Thomas of the Pirates all hit two homers each at Paterson Field on this day.

It was a pitchers nightmare with that many homers, but even in the spring exhibition game Philadelphia starting pitcher Alex Kellner went all nine innings, allowing 16 hits and ten runs to earn the victory.

METRO OUT AS MGR

Metro

Also on this date, Charlie Metro is replaced as manager of the Rebels.
The popular manager was the longest tenured skipper in Montgomery history until Billy Gardner Jr managed the Biscuits from 2007-13.

THE BIG ONE
Also on that day, and likely most important....